Does anyone know of any time savers on sanding wooden dowels? I've been thinking about rigging up my drill press. Has anyone done this before? Any advice on this? I don't have the time to handsand through three grits on 12 pieces!! The tops and bottoms of the dowels will not be seen so they can be drilled into, to allow for mounting somehow to the d.p.
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I think in straight lines, but dream in curves
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I'd chuck it in the lathe... If you don't have a lathe, you could chuck it in a drill and use a wood block with protruding nail point for the tailpiece. Keep the speed under control, and have at it... -
You could use the DP as UC suggested. Depending on the length, chucking the dowel may distort that end. If it's one that you can start off long and then cut that end off, that would leave you with a clean end.
If the dowel is larger in diameter than your chuck capacity, or if the dowel is not long enough to cut off, use a small forstner bit in the chuck as a "spur" bit.
At the tail end, the nail through a board that is clamped down should work OK.
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I was just reading one of my old Fine Woodworking magazines and someone sent in a tip for a way to mount a hand tool like a drill or belt sander. Basically you cover the tool in plastic and set it in about an inch of bondo to make a perfect mold of the tool. After the bondo dries you set the top of your drill in it and secure it with a couple of hose clamps. The picture in the mag made it very clear but I don't remember which issue it was in.Rand
"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like your thumb."Comment
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ya, .. I would just use an electric drill if they are small, if they were larger I would just rig up a jig that would operate like a spring pole lathe.Comment
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Thanks all. They are 3/4" diameter 4' dowels. I need 21" pieces for the project of which on either end, 1 1/2" will be hidden. I don't have a forstner set, but I do have some new sharp twists, some small ones would probably do the trick. These claim to be presanded dowels. I was thinking of starting at 150 grit, going to 180 then 220 to finish. This has worked on plywood for me in the past, any comments on that? I will let you know in a few days how the setup works
I think in straight lines, but dream in curvesComment
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Keep in mind that when you turn the dowel on the sandpaper you are sanding cross grain. I would go to 320 grit or even finer to minimize sanding scratches.Don, aka Pappy,
Wise men talk because they have something to say,
Fools because they have to say something.
PlatoComment
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Good point, and I wish I had seen that before I had put a seal coat on them... but in any event, I chucked up sections of the dowels into the dp using a 2" screw and a hole in a 2x4 on the other end as a guide and it worked like a charm. After the seal coat is dry I can give them a light sanding with 320 grit. Thanks for the input
I think in straight lines, but dream in curvesComment
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